I recently set up Arch Linux using the archinstall script on VirtualBox and chose Qtile as my window manager. However, I've noticed that it's lagging with the default settings. Online, I read that Qtile should only use about 200-300MB of RAM when idle, but my setup is showing 600MB usage. I'm not sure if the virtual machine setup is causing this or if it's something else. Any tips on how to resolve these issues? Thanks!
3 Answers
Your RAM usage can be influenced by a few different factors. For one, if you’re comparing memory usage stats, make sure you're looking just at Qtile and not the entire system usage. Remember, 32-bit systems generally consume less RAM than 64-bit. Also, your machine might be caching resources due to the extra RAM you have, making things feel quicker. I just installed Qtile on KVM with 2GB of RAM and saw about 360MB used, but that's with 260MB cached. It’s a different setup, but it gives a ballpark idea!
If you really want to lower memory usage, there are tweaks you might look into, but unused RAM isn't really a problem. Just make sure everything's functioning properly. If it runs fast, no need to throw anything out!
Honestly, as long as your system runs smoothly, the extra RAM usage shouldn't be a big deal. Linux will use available RAM for caching to speed things up, which is beneficial. If you're not experiencing any significant lag, you might just be fine!
Exactly! More RAM can mean better performance since Linux optimizes how it uses memory. Don't stress too much unless you start having issues!
I set up Qtile on VirtualBox as well; I have 4GB RAM and 2GB swap. Here's my output from the 'lsblk' command: [link](https://0x0.st/8WbV.png). Hope it helps!